Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 01/15/2011 - 13:24

Hi my name is Amy. I was wondering; how cold is it in the plane that transports the ice cores back to the U.S.? Also; how long does it take to drill one ice core? Thanks.

Heidi Roop

Amy, thanks for your questions. The plane temperature from WAIS to McMurdo is about -10C. The ice cores take a ship back to the States. All of the cores are transported in a refrigeration unit called a SafeCore. The temperature is maintained around -25C. The time it takes to collect an ice core varies depending on the depth of the borehole. This season, because we were so deep in the hole, it took about 2.5 hours to get each three meter section of ice.
Thanks for your questions!
Cheers,
Heidi